| I Love the Market Economy |
| I've decided to write something of an "end of the year" entry. I know, I know, I already basically wrote one. But, I've been inspired to write another.
Thanks to my various friends out there. TR lunch gang, it's been fun. I've really enjoyed our discussions. You do really well convincing me that the libertarian cause does still need to be communicated, and that communicating it is a hopeless endeavor. But, hey, sometimes education is done for the fun of the educator rather than for the benefit of the student. "The gang" - Thanks for putting up with me, and starting to include me in 'various stuff', for lack of a better term. I really look forward to getting to know y'all in the next couple years. The Societas crowd - I don't think any of you read this... But, hey, that doesn't matter, does it? It's been fun joining up with your org. Good discussions, and it's so refreshing to see the beauties of the market be praised. Mia amino - I do not think there are words to say what I would like to (everyone else, please bear through the cheese). You're, above all else, my best friend. When I need someone, you're always there to support me, and you always let me know how much you care. It means a lot to me, so never tell yourself that you are any less a person than you are. Well, now that my "it's been a great year" messages are out there, I'm going to do something I haven't done enough recently. I'm going to move into a discussion about how the market is "oh so great". See, my friend the Chem major was over here chatting tonight. Fun little chat about us trying to distract ourselves from studying. Well, inevitably, we move into politics as a subject. (It's actually kind of funny... I think I talk more about politics with my friend the Chem major than with my PoliSci major friends...) See, he and I come from opposite perspectivies (well, hyperbole is allowed, I think). While I am more libertarian, in thinking that the government needs to get out of our lives, he's more authoritarian, in thinking that the government needs to run our lives for us. Now, he'd reject being called authoritarian. But, if you said "Should government redistribute income?" He'd say "Yes, charity is a valid function of government." If you asked "Should government enforce morality?", he'd say "Yes, government's primary role is to enforce morality in the physical world." In my mind, that's "government controls economic life + govenment controls personal life" = "authoritarian." Before I move on to my "the market is so great" presentation, I think I need to justify that comment... Some would say "Wait! How is redistribution equal to government controlling economic life? It's not like we're communists!" True, and untrue at the same time. What is the fundamental philosophy underlying both redistibutism and communism? Simply this: the government owns all property. Now, wait, wait, wait. I can hear your objection already. "What? How is a simple redistribution saying that the government owns everything? You own a house! You own a business! Etc. etc." See, that's not entirely true. Do you own your house? *Buzz* Wrong! If you stop renting your property from the government (they call it a property tax), they take it from you. Can someone legally just take something that is yours? Of course not. Can they make you pay rent for something that is yours? Of course not. So, in reality, the GOVERNMENT owns your house, and you are simply a tenant. So, what does the government do when it redistributes? First, it takes someone's income (usually). What does that mean? Simply this, it means that the government OWNS the income in the first place. And, since the government COULD legally take ALL of your income, if it wanted, it legally OWNS all of your income. It is just so gracious that it lets you have some IT's income. That, ladies and gents, is how redistribution means that the government owns everything. Your salary after-tax is just the Government's money that they've decided to let you use. If you buy something with it, the government owns it. And, since everything is bought with some sort of income that could be taxed (in theory, even if it's not currently taxed in our system), everything is owned by the government. How is this not communism? So, now that I've proven that redistribution does mean that the government owns everything, let's move on to the real reason for my discussion. "The Market is so great." Let's look at the real world, and see how business works v. how government works. You decide you don't want to buy a product from a company. What does the company do? Well, they can telemarket, they can advertise, and so on. Do you have to buy the product? Nope. Now, let's say that a large group of people (but not a majority of the people of society) decide that they don't want to buy the product. A couple things can happen... The company may end up going out of business. Maybe it's only profitable for them if they have a larger customer base. Maybe they keep advertising. Maybe they do something else. But, under no circumstances can they make you buy their product by themselves. Now, how does government work? You decide that you don't want to buy the government's services. So, what do you do? First, you write to your congressman saying you want to opt out of taxes, and also opt out of government services. They send you a reply that reads something like "I'm glad to see that you are taking an interest in the actions of your government. Unfortunately, the current system does not allow for your request. However, I will continue representing your interests. Vote for me in 2004." Second, you decide to just stop paying. Well, then the IRS shows up at your door, takes your stuff, and says "You still owe $X in fines an penalties for back taxes." This probably happens at gunpoint. Now, let's say that 49% of the population decides that they don't want the governments services anymore. Let's even put them in one geographic location. We can call it "the South". First, you all get together and say "We don't want to pay taxes any more, and we don't want your services. Please cut both." The government sends letters to 49% of the populations saying "I'm glad to see that you are taking an interest in the actions of your government. Unfortunately, the current system does not allow for your request. However, I will continue representing your interests. Vote for me in 2004." So, you all get together and secede. Then, the government says "A house divided cannot stand." and sends an army to take you back over. After they do that, they send IRS agents down to take your stuff and say that you owe $X in back taxes. Do we see a reason that the market is so great? Don't get me wrong. The government has a specific goal. Elimination of force and fraud. Their use of force is ONLY acceptable as a reaction. Their use of fraud is NEVER acceptable. Beyond that, the government is claiming ownership to our persons, our liberty, and our property. President Bush, Jr. said "Freedom is not the United States gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity." Remember that, President Bush. Each time you do something restricting our freedom to buy foreign steel and foreigners freedom to sell it. Each time you do something restricting our freedom to use our money the way we see fit (remember, the REAL amount of taxation is measured not by tax revenue, but by government expenditure, which has ballooned since 2001). Only the free market can provide true freedom to the people. And a market filled with mass government spending and tariffs is not free. |
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